


Factions: Eyes Shut

by AdrianMordis



Series: Factions [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shingeki no Kyojin Fusion, Dead People, Drama, Humor, Multi, Psychological Drama, Romantic Comedy, School, Supernatural Elements, Winter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-25
Updated: 2013-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-02 13:58:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1057603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdrianMordis/pseuds/AdrianMordis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mysterious person has come with the falling of winter as Armin enters his second year of being separated from everything he once knew. Cast into a new family of misfits, he finds that the time has come to let go of the safety rope and just trust in fate. There are things in this world you just don't understand until you fall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Awkward Friendships Part 1: An Inspired Spark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sharmanat0r](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharmanat0r/gifts).



> Hello everyone! Welcome to my first fan-fic. I hope you all like. The over all story is actually based off of my best friend and his relationship with his partner so it's a dedication to them. I promise if you stick with it all the cool stuff with be revealed!
> 
> Thank you!
> 
> Enjoy!

 

Winter had settled on the campus like a cover of dust upon an old shelf; light and silent with the promise of physical thickness despite its weightless nature. The world beyond the windows and warm interiors of the quiet library lay silent, muted. The snow perched upon the frozen branches of sleeping trees spreading its metaphor or death in its own way as the living seasons came to an end with the first falling of winter's frozen tears.

Armin looked out at the white sky through a golden curtain of textured bangs absently tapping his pencil against his psychology textbook. The soft rubber eraser drummed softly to the rhythmic beating of Armin’s own heart. As his soft fingers bounced the pencil up and down over the warm flesh that covered his bones. Armin was a beautiful boy, for lack of a better word, fragily constructed and fair his figure was an odd combination of his mixed scandinavion genetics he knew very little about. At the age of 17 Armin still resembled someone closer to a younger generation that posessed the potential of a graceful maturation. His eyes were a brilliant soft blue, wide and full pools of wonder and a silent wisdom. Despite his intellegence and deep seeded cunning armin carried himself with a shyness and fragility that most of his classmates either thrived on or felt mildly threatened by; which caused Armin to become a very solitary and self conscious personality. 

This was his second winter along with his second year of being far from the memories of a family he once knew. He reflected distantly on the seemingly endless journeys. The constant flocking to warmer climates with his grandfather who would joke how they were birds following the warmth of the sun. It was, back then, when Armin had never seen snow and felt comfortable with in the world his grandfather had led him into. Used to the bright and gracefully constructed world that that was shown to him so long ago Armin felt more than just a little betrayed when left with someone he barely knew let alone trusted. In the end Armin was here, in this room, with a new family, and a new journey ahead of him. He weighed these thoughts carefully and found a sort of peace in the coldness of the day and the bitterness of his transition.  

Armin perched his head thoughtfully on the heel of his palm, his warm fingers lightly cupped the roundness of his slowly firming jaw and soft flesh of his cheek. His thumb rubbed lightly against the hollow of his mandible and earlobe. A small tick he was never fully aware of but classmates found oddly amusing. Subconsciously, one would guess, he simply enjoyed the softness and comfort assumed with such a tender spot. The pressure it caused could be considered addicting when pressed lightly with firm intention. He huffed a lonesome sigh through his nostrils as his mind quietly reminded him of the test coming in the next week. He had studied more than enough, but a part of him was never quite sure. He probably knew more if not very close to everything his patient professors could teach him.

His eyes wandered through the pale sky that towered over him through the tall intricate windows. His gaze traveled over the wood and stone that held them firmly in place. His sights rolled and tumbled off the stained glass vignettes and back to the outside world. He watched the snowflakes as they fell softly on a tall dark creature standing in the courtyard; head up to the sky with its limbs perfectly aligned to resemble something close to a flag pole. Armin looked passed the dark mass in a thoughtless scan of the square then stopped. He sat up straight to lock eyes on the dark mass again both confused and curious about its whereabouts. _Odd_ , he thought staring at how the figure stood so still his face to the sky, eyes closed, and a thin wisp of steam floating out from shallow exhales. Armin began to stand slowly, his eyes locked on his curious target. He considered sitting down again before a precise glance around the library near where he was sitting determined no one was looking. Satisfied he placed a delicate hand to the window's glass carressing it lightly with his warm flesh and brushing his breath against it's chilled body. From two stories up Armin could tell he hadn't seen this person before. Tall and slender from what he could see under a long black or possibly distressed deep olive green coat. A healthy head of dark hair topped a face he couldn’t distinguish from both distance and the large muffler that covered the tanned skin from the cold. This new mystery at hand did not fit any description he knew currently. The campus was relatively small so students and teachers both were able to recognize most if not everyone who was currently enrolled at any given time.

"What are you doing out there?" he said quietly to himself trying to look passed his breath upon the fogging glass. The figure twitched slightly as if startled by someone behind him and began nervously looking over the building. Armin guessed that someone opened a window somewhere in one of the other corridors or perhaps there was another sound that startled him. He watched thoughtfully as the figure continued searching then stopped on his window. A low hum stirred deep in Armin’s ears as he felt eyes roaming over him. It was an unsettling feeling that didn’t quite make sense to his studied intelligence and realistic processing of situations. Armin felt oddly exposed behind this window, within this room, surrounded by silent students who kept to themselves. He could imagine the color of the stranger’s eyes suddenly in his mind as if he were looking right at them, nervous, but focused eyes. Armin gave a small shudder raking his fingernails along the glass in a silent expression of his discomfort. He felt startled, and was regretting his initial curiosity that spurred his staring. The humming grew louder and lounder like a rise of an electric symphony. A tightness wrapped around his skull and throat. Burning an invisible brand into his fair skin. After a long staggering pause of time Armin felt the energy flicker away from him for an instant. Something must have distracted his focused subject from its own observation. Armin pulled away from the window coming back to his senses. His ears burned and a ringing continued to pulse through the chambers of his skull and the small hallow pockets of his bones. He watched as the figure bowed its head then turned away into the light snow storm. Armin kept his eyes locked on the window in a minor state of shock while letting his arm stir the air gently to find his chair before sitting back down.

"Staring at people again are we?" a low but peaceful voice rolled across the table. Armin jumped at the sound jostled by the fact that someone had been there the whole time without him noticing. Erwin, his psychology professor and current caregiver, was sitting across from him dressed smartly as usual in a dark purple almost black velvet blazer, plum cotton and polyester V-neck, and black suit pants. His perfectly shined black shoes were propped on the table, ankles crossed under deep maroon socks. He looked like your casually spoiled gentleman holding Armin's notebook to his face like anyone would at breakfast with the morning post. Armin tried to counter with a complaint but a sputtered "A-ah" spat up through his vocal chords. Erwin bent a corner of the floppy notebook towards him in order to see the priceless look on Armin’s face. His one sharp blue eye stared at the expression he was expecting. The notebook covered the amused smile that crept across his mouth. _God he’s so nervous it’s almost a crime to tease him so much._ The thought was fleeting, but Erwin couldn’t help but feel a little remorse for his endless jokes.

"S-sir," Armin let out finally after a long confused stare at the scene before him. His eyes had wandered over Erwin's body like they always did in an unconscious sizing up of dominance. He and Erwin were uncannily similar in both features and personalities. Like Armin Erwin was a cunning man of exceptional intelligence with golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was built in the likeness of, what Armin imagined to be, a modern male personification of Athena which made him uncomfortably handsome to both students and teachers alike. His broad shoulders carried him with intimidating composure and confidence. Armin never fully believed that Erwin was an actual living being and more like a walking Greek statue casually clad in modern attire; and painted to realistic perfection, capturing a fair, blonde, and peircing blue eyed devil of a man. 

"Yes?" Erwin mockingly replied bouncing a foot to an imaginary tune against the other.

"G-give me back my notes! I have to study!" Armin pleaded standing after a solid placing of his palms against the dark wood table. Erwin raised his eyebrows with a look of shock that covered his skin deep amusement. _The boy is loosening up finally_ , he thought with a small grin as he slowly closed the notebook leaving his thumbs in place so he wouldn’t lose his spot.

"P-please," Armin shook hanging his head out of bewilderment. His fingers twitched against the shiny wood surface below. Erwin stared at him for a moment trying not to laugh at how fun it was to tease his second favorite person in the whole world. Armin was always one to cower quite easily under most circumstances. But Erwin couldn’t help but poke a prod until he found out why Armin would react in x way while in a y situation. So far his observations pointed to the following outcome: Armin tended to cave in on himself while in a school environment. The opposite happened at home. _Why is being a teacher and a caregiver so confusing?_ Erwin couldn’t really find an answer.     

"Erwin!" a hushed hiss shot through the air somewhere behind Armin. Erwin leaned over slightly to find the source and smiled foolishly. Armin kept his eyes on his notebook willing it to come back to him. He never kept any dirty notes regarding Mikasa’s bra size, that only happened once and was Eren’s fault, but he could never be sure. No one could blame him. Someone was always jotting things down in his notebook by mistake, or on purpose.  

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Armin stood straighter at the familiar voice behind him. A small victory curled its way around the corners of his mouth. A spidery hand slapped the table in between them with a sharp but silenced PAHT. Armin gave a little jump despite his knowing who had come to intervene. Levi, Erwin's compactly built partner stood between them as he always did when Erwin decided it was appropriate to mock or tease Armin. It was safe to say that Levi was Erwin's personal dark side of the moon with his short stature, lamp black hair, and half cast eyes. 

"Sorry," Levi said quietly over his shoulder to Armin genuinely apologizing for the sudden entrance, "Ewrin Smith. If I knew your shitty middle name I would use it." 

Erwin shrugged smiling wider while holding back a guilty laugh behind strained lips.

"I don't have one! Joke's on you," Erwin giggled accentuating his victory by gesturing with Armin's notebook.

"Oh really?" Levi looked over his shoulder at Armin with a sharp grin in his eye. He looked back to Erwin, "Well then," Levi whispered taking glances at who was in the room as well as pointing out their coordinates. Connie and Sasha, 1 o’clock, Reiner and Jean, 4 o’clock, Petra was at the librarian desk somewhere just behind Sasha and Connie. Erwin shifted becoming more comfortable, his grin unfaltering. Levi smiled a small devious expression and collected the proper volume for his next exclaimation.

“Erwin Courtney Smith,” He stated loud enough for everyone around them to hear. Reiner choked on a laugh as the name Courtney stabbed straight through Erwins soul. Levi smiled, triumphantly staring down Erwin’s battered ego.

“You’re middle name is Courtney?” the surprised voice of Marco called out as he manifested from under the table holding a thermos, eyes bright and curious as usual. Everyone turned their attention to Marco and his completely unorthodox way of entering the scene. A nervous twitch caused three flickers of a wounded smile. Marco, a newly transferred student from a larger school, was a tall dark young man of 19 who flaunted the body build of a capable rugby, or water polo player. His freckles decorated his kind face that made it difficult for Armin to imagine him having any other emotions other than pure bliss. 

“I mean, that’s a nice name,” he countered rubbing the soft bristles of the short black hair on the back of his head, “My mom tried to make mine Veronica…” There was a loud thud as Reiner hit his table in a fit of laughter. Jean added to the echoing volume with his own hysterics. Connie and Sasha bantered to themselves in excited planning of mischief. Marco looked around confused about why everyone was laughing but dared not to ask. Armin caught movement at the corner of his eye near the librarian’s desk and office. Levi and Erwin were still staring at Marco, both trying to calculate why he was under the table in the first place.

“Veronica? Really?” Ewrin grimaced wrinkling his nose at the full construction of the name.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Levi stated. His eyes narrowing, “And I thought my mother was strange,”

“Guys,” Armin quietly interjected as the librarian slowly emerged from his cave and sent the intern quickly fleeing in fear.

“I never said she went through with it,” Marco continued more nervous than before. Armin began to put his books away while keeping an eye on the terrifying sight coming towards them. Levi shoved Erwin’s feet off the table to lean in on a conversation escalating between Marco and the two of them. Nile, the scowling and short tempered librarian,  was closing in, teeth bared, and shoulders high in an offended hackle. Armin ripped the notebook from Erwin mid sentence then smacked Levi in the same motion. They both stopped to to stare at Armin quizzically.        

“Remember how we were discussing the dangers of the great Nile?” Armin exclaimed nodding a head toward the ominous mass  looming towards them. Levi turned around instantly.

“Shit,” his eyes widened. Armin grabbed Marco by the sleeve of his sweater and booked it for the door. Levi followed suit with Erwin trailing along behind as Nile chased them from the library spitting curses and shaking his fist. The remaining patrons of the library watched in shock and laughed amongst themselves. Despite the terror within the sprinting parade Erwin cackled like a maniac when they hit the polished floor of the hallway. Nile continued his pursuit yelling at Erwin specifically.

“You damn ass hole,” Levi cursed, “Why do you always have to piss off the librarian!” Erwin only laughed in response with a wild look in his eye. Levi smirked at the idiocy and quarkiness behind Erwin's vain of professionalism. 

“Break into formation!” Erwin called running up to the front of the group being carried gracefully by his long powerful legs. Levi rolled his eyes with a smile and forced Armin and Marco into the middle forming a running triangle. Erwin led, with a childish excitement on his face. Armin flipped sides with Marco, forcing him into the center of the pack. Marco looked around nervously now being flanked by Armin and Levi. 

“Hard Right!” Ewrin commanded turning sharply. The group flocked with him flawlessly excepting for a small stumble on Marco’s part. Armin glanced over at Marco who looked winded but excited at the same time as they ran. Erwin made a sharp left.

“See you later Armin!” he called skidding into a room and slamming the door. Armin waved with a smile and caught a glance at Levi. Levi watched that Marco wasn’t looking and gave Armin a warm expression along with a short and precise hand gesture. Armin studied it closely before Levi too broke off to the right down a large hallway. Marco turned to Armin with a smile.

“Lunch?” Marco asked excitedly, his freckles changing under a warm shade of pink. Armin smiled with a nod slowing down his pace and taking another wide turn. Marco stopped and placed his thermos down gently before falling to the ground in laughter.

“Do you guys do that often?” he asked laughing hoarsely, “We should really hang out sometime. That was really fun!”

Armin laughed trying to catch his breath and nodded with agreement.

“Do you think you could handle it?” he asked giving Marco a warm smile. Marco nodded without a second thought.

 


	2. Awkward Friendships Part II: Inspiration Of kindness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco finds out a little more about Armin which delights and concerns him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoot whoot Chapter 2! Hope you guys are liking this at least a little bit ^^'  
> Thank you guys!

“So,” Marco spoke after a long silence settled between he and Armin, “Where do you get lunch around here?” Armin was thoughtfully sipping from the thermos that Marco had handed him after their bout of laughter. He choked softly before looking back over to Marco.

“A-Are you saying you’ve never had lunch here?” Armin wanted to laugh but he couldn’t blame Marco for being confused. He himself never really ate with everyone else since he had the pleasure of packed lunches. Marco laughed a little taking the cup away from Armin before he dropped it.

“I transferred in a few weeks ago but my floormate always takes me off campus for food,” Marco smiled with a little shrug, “But I thought it’s always good to ask other people for their opinion.” Armin chuckled trying to imagine Marco being dragged out into the unknown world for Pizza and other tasty cheap restaurant foods.

“So, where do you go?”

Armin gave him a long look sizing up the potential of his new friend.

“It’s... A bit of a secret,” He replied tugging on a small collection of his golden hair. He pulled it forward to examine the ends. Marco watched with curiosity. He found Armin to be very interesting to say the least. He imagined that there was something about Armin that people tended to overlook or ignore.

“But,” He faltered dropping his distracting suddenly, “If you don’t tell anyone,”

“I can promise you Armin,” Marco scoffed rolling his eyes then looking away, “I haven’t made any other friends yet-” He cut himself off testing weather to continue his train of thought. Armin got up and offered a hand.

“Come on. I’ll show you my place. We can eat there,”

Marco pulled himself up with a small bounce of excitement.

They wandered through the barren halls side by side as Armin gave Marco another short tour of the place. Marco watched Armin in amazement as he went through the history of the building, the style of the architecture, and reasons behind the location. Armin rounded a corner down a descending spiral hallway until they came to a back door Marco was pretty sure they shouldn’t be using.

“Really? This way?” Marco couldn’t help but ask. Armin nodded with a smile and unlocked the door. There was a flurry of wind and snow as Armin pulled the heavy door aside.

“Come. This way,” he waved Marco onward as they entered into a hidden courtyard behind the main building.

“Where are we?”

“This is where most of the faculty stays during the school year. Or at least most of them. If you haven’t noticed the town surrounding us isn’t really the most exciting place to live,” He unlocked another door and shoved it forward with a grunt, “And the next best city is an hour away by ca-”

“Wait. You live in the faculty building?” Marco felt bad about interrupting but he needed to know. Armin pulled him inside and shut the door.

“Only when school is in session,” he answered pointedly with a causal undertone. They climbed three flights of stairs before Marco decided to question any further.

“So… Do your parents work for the school?”

“Well, They’re not REALLY my parents,” Armin chuckled, “That would be weird. But yeah I guess you could say that.” He unlocked a numberless door at the far corner of the bright hallway. Marco still tried to understand the emphasis on Really and the That would be weird. After the door was open Marco looked over Armin’s head to find a quaint apartment that was broken up into platforms. Armin neatly placed his shoes to the side and stepped in. Marco enjoyed the odd construction of how the kitchen, directly to the right, was lifted a step above the main living area. How the the couch and sitting space was lowered into a sinkhole. He noticed that there were two bedrooms, one on the right passed the kitchen and another to the left higher above the sitting area.  

“Looks like a twilight zone,” He mused closing the door softly.

“Oh hey! You’re back early,” an excitedly soft voice called from the unseen space of the couch. Armin hopped down the steps and landed softly on the backrest.

“Hanji!” He said with a laugh, “What are you doing here?” Hanji sat up and ruffled Armin’s hair lightly.

“I let myself in. You guys have the best couch in the whole building! Plus I had some things for Erwin to edit for me. Oh! Who is this?” Hanji asked leaning over the couch to smile at Marco. Marco waved nervously before stepping down into the seating area.

“P-Professor Hanji. H-Hi.” He stuttered smiling a little.

“Oh! Hi Marco! Good to see you! I’m sorry I haven’t given your paper back yet. I got distracted by your theory and decided to do some reading into it.” Hanji patted the couch with a small dance of bouncing, “I can assure you, you passed!” Marco couldn’t help but laugh in response. He had to admit that Hanji was his favorite teacher despite her eccentric personality. Armin took Marco’s empty thermos and wandered over to the kitchen.

“Hey Marco?” he asked from the sink over his shoulder, “You can go ahead and sit down. Do you have anymore classes for the day?” Marco checked his watch, more out of habit than actual need.

“No I’m good. I only have morning classes for some reason,” he shrugged taking a seat on the couch and resting his chin against the backrest to mimic Hanji. Armin set the thermos to the side to dry and leaned on the counter trying to make a decision about food.

“You know,” Marco started after taking a better look around the room, “This place is disgustingly clean.” Armin and Hanji burst out laughing in unison.

“Oh Armin,” Hanji sighed wiping a small tear out from under her glasses, “He’s great. You should keep him.” Armin nodded covering his face still laughing.

“What? It really is! I swear this place is hospital worthy,” Marco replied chuckling himself at how ridiculous this whole day had felt. Never in his life had he ended up under a table by accident and been chased out of a library by an angry teacher. He smiled thoughtfully bouncing and rolling his head on the squishy backrest.

“So what was your theory Marco?” Armin began after the laughter had subsided. He had started to look through the overly full fridge to see what he could find. Marco jumped to attention before thinking of his answer.

“W-well it was just a general theory really,” he mentioned fiddling with the soft throw blanket next to him, “I wanted to look into the question of how people get sick. I mean to be honest I believe that there can be more than just a couple factors that cause someone to become ill.”

“It actually can happen,” Hanji blurted out waving a finger in the air, “Despite your already genetic setting it pretty easy for someone to almost ‘Imagine’ a problem into form.”

Marco hummed to himself in thought weighing the information as well as trying to remember his last essay. He had gone further into depth about the idea but nothing came to mind at the moment.

“Sounds like you would enjoy psychology Marco,” Armin interjected turning around to give him a smile.

“I really wanted to take Psych but I got scheduled into a different pool of classes for the semester.” Marco replied lifting up the throw and wrapping it around his head and shoulders, “But I was wanting to go into more unorthodox things.” He faltered reconsidering about what he was going to say.

“For example,” He restarted, “I read an article where someone studied the effects of negative energy projected onto a glass of water.” Armin closed the fridge and leaned on it, his arms crossed and a curious look on his face.

“Really. Like electric energy or something?”

Marco shook his head, “No, I mean like taking water and… Well…” He decided to go for it, “Exposing it to positive and negative words or pictures”

“So this guy took a glass of water and talked to it,” Armin didn’t seem too impressed by the statement but gave Marco room to explain.

“Y-Yes, in a sense. He found that when you observe the chystalization of water while ‘Complimenting’ or ‘Insulting’ it the molecular shape of it changes.” Marco stated as Armin raised an eyebrow, “The gentleman concluded, that if our bodies are mostly water, and water by itself has the ability to react to negative or positive language, then what do those words do to our bodies as a whole?”

Hanji placed her index finger thoughtfully under her nose. Her brows furrowed at the idea. Armin tapped his upper lip in response to the observation Marco just told.

“I can understand that. It’s a bit hard to wrap my brain around but I like the idea. Makes a lot of sense as to why some people just look healthier in comparison to others,” Armin considered the differences between some of his classmates and how they communicate with each other, “So, your theory revolves around possible metaphysical contributions to the physicality of a being.” Armin had a strange twitch in his heart that some how flicked the back of his ear. It was a hard thing to understand but definitely not the strangest idea. A chill went up his spine the more he thought about it. He recalled a small section of his textbook regarding a similar theory but it was only a paragraph long and didn’t go into great detail. After a long moment of thinking he returned to his task of food. Considering it now Armin realized that he never tried to cook anything himself here since Levi always tossed him out somewhere if anything got dirty.

Hanji and Marco continued the conversation with each other when Ewrin opened the door. Hanji waved silently without stuttering in her long string of plans with Marco. Ewrin waved back slowly closed the door and placing his shoes in their proper place. Marco listened intently to Hanji’s secret assignment for him but stole nervous glances over at the unsuspecting Armin still shuffling through the fridge. He hadn’t even noticed that Hanji had casually taken out a small notepad in the middle of her one sided explanation. _Observe the Wild Erwin_ , she scribbled placing the note in front of Marco as she continued talking. Erwin softly placed his blazer on the coat rack and crouched close to the floor.

“He stalks the unsuspecting Armin,” she whispered giving Marco a nudge through the throw blanket and a wink.

“So, Armin,” Marco started trying to sound casual, “Finding anything good in there?” Hanji gave him a thumbs up as Ewrin crawled over the one stair up to the kitchen’s platform.

“Uhm. Well there’s a lot of pasta in here. Not sure when we had pasta last,” Armin said absently genuinely confused about the amount of food he had to push aside. He hummed to himself quietly lost in thought still mostly distracted by Marco’s story. Erwin rose to his feet and snatched Armin right out of the fridge with the terrifying silence of an owl.

“WHAT HELL!” Armin’s voice cracked as he was lifted up and draped over Erwin’s shoulder.

“ERWIN!” He protested flailing his limbs. Erwin laughed heartily as he bounced Armin around and lifted him up higher. Armin was surprisingly light for his size despite the fact that he was fed overly well.  

“Hey Armin,” Erwin greeted dancing down from the kitchen and across the main floor. He twirled around twice before collapsing into an oversized pillow bag.

“Poof,” Armin landed face first into Erwin’s chest, his arms wrapped fearfully around his ribcage. Erwin held him tightly resting his chin on the top of Armin’s head.

“Oh hey Marco,” Erwin grinned giving the couch people a small wave.

Armin held his eyes closed as memory fragments warmed his vision.

“You still have to explain why you were hiding under that table,” Erwin laughed, shifting under Armin’s body and giving him a head massage.  

_Armin’s parents appeared to him as distant figures shadowed in black. They were calling for him somewhere outside. He was only a boy now, small, and fragile. Armin observed his hands and the small feet beneath him. His golden hair, mixing with swaying hay, was cut shorter and out of his large blue eyes. What is this? Armin thought bewildered and afraid of such a randomly timed vision. Another call came from the adults as he playfully hid from them. It was only a game right? Only a game._

The low vibration of Erwin’s voice coursing through the billows of his chest brought Armin back in a confused state. He felt so tired now. Armin tried to lift his head to escape his warm captor, but only a small shift was successful. _Why can’t I move?_ Armin was panicked now as his senses suddenly became overly aware. The pounding of Erwin’s heart, the echoing of Marco and Hanji’s voices, a strange tapping of boot to floor. Armin shivered as Erwin suddenly felt so familiar on a level that he wasn’t sure was even possible. The shadow of his lost father came back to mind but the initial familiarity didn’t fit. Armin placed a small image of Erwin in it’s place to make sense of it. The feeling of comfort returned in a small wave. Armin reflected that he had only known Erwin for four years altogether. Two of those years he spent here directly in his care. The details regarding their relationship were foggy, but he never bothered to ask and Erwin never offered to mention it. Buried in Erwin’s smell and aura Armin drifted further into this strange dream that overtook him.

_“You can fall,” a soft voice whispered so close to his ear, “I’ll catch you if you let me,” Armin felt like he was holding onto something he couldn’t identify. Warmth surrounded his body._

_“Fall,” The voice whispered again. Armin could feel breath against him ear and an arm wrapped tenderly around his chest._

_“But… If I let go?” Armin asked quietly, “Who’s going to catch you?”_

_There was a loud shatter of glass and all turned into darkness._

Erwin had been explaining the living situation to  Marco as Armin fainted into his dream. Erwin felt more than a little concerned about these recent cases of Narcolepsy. Armin was, for what he could tell, promisingly healthy and should continue to stay as such for a very long time. He stole a small glance at Armin. He seemed to be breathing smoothly, and his heart rate was normal. Erwin continued to try and explain, holding his new found concern in a back file of his brain. Marco waved off any other explanations. Despite coming from a true a comfortable home Maroc saw nothing wrong with the picture. Armin seemed at peace for once. After their few encounters, he always struck Marco as being a slightly high strung youth with no room to fit. Awkward, was the first word that came to mind whenever he had the chance to observe Armin among Mikasa or Eren. They had a genuine connection, he couldn’t lie about that, but there was a tenseness that caused strain between the naturalness of their friendship. Here now in this room, and back then when they were running so eagerly away from Nile Marco got to see Armin in a true state of calm.

“Sorry to ruin your time with Armin,” Erwin said softly. Noting that Armin wasn’t going to be getting up anytime soon.

“No, no it’s alright,” Marco responded waving his hands in surrender, “It’s been a long day. I should be heading back to my place anyways before the storm gets too bad.”

Erwin gave a small frown to Hanji allowing his concern for Armin to reveal itself to her. She gave a small nod and a sideways pulling of her mouth. Marco got up to grab his thermos and asked if Hanji would show him the way out so he wouldn’t get lost. She agreed after placing a folder on the coffee table for Erwin to look through.

“Tell him I’ll see him later,” Marco said softly. He walked over and gave Armin a light pat on the head.

“You have a phone thing right?” Erwin asked unconscious of his vocabulary. Marco nodded.

“Put in his number so you can have a better time some day,”

Marco took the number and waved goodbye to Erwin with promises of coming back. He apologized once more for Armin’s rudeness and gave Marco a weak smile.

“He does this sometimes. Just trails off,” He lied as Hanji closed the door.

Later, Marco got home safely with a large sandwich graciously purchased by Hanji.  He couldn’t help but hope that he could help Armin in someway. He couldn’t see Armin sleeping from where he had sat but he had to admit it was odd. He laid back on his surprisingly large bed to land perfectly in Annie’s lap. He looked up with a smile.

“Hey Annie. What brings you?” Annie shrugged taking out one of her head phones.

“Can I have some?” She asked quietly, pointing at the sandwich. Marco laughed and gave her half.

“I found a song I want to hear you play,” Her voice was serious as always, but genuine word for word. Marco looked at her questionably. She nodded and shoved one of the earbuds into his head and pressed play.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. If you are curious about what Marco was talking about energy wise you can find a video here. The information behind it is truly fascinating: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kY05OMx3bo
> 
> You guys will find out what the song is next chapter. But if you must feel free to leave a comment and I will post it for you :D


	3. I Have a Song For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco is offered a chance he has always wanted to have since meeting Annie. And Armin tells himself he is a burden made only to rest on the shoulders of others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok guys. First, Happy Thanksgiving! And thank you all for reading my writing it means so much to me. 
> 
> Here is Annie's song that Marco is listening to: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MqoANESQ4cQ
> 
> Also, introducing! Bertl's point of view: http://archiveofourown.org/works/1068922

_I found a sense of comfort in the way you looked at a darkened world with such wonder_   
_I never understood the way your heart pounded in your chest with such life and warmth_   
_I was warned to never trust your kind_   
_But alas, here I am_   
_Wrapped up in the comedy of your life_

 

 

 

* * *

Marco closed his eyes in order to lose himself in the music. He listened closely as a harp broke the silence that consumed him. He smiled faintly when a piano was added to the opening, creating a depth and an extra sharpness to the flying sensation the harp had inspired. He sighed slowly exhaling his stresses and thoughts as the duet carried him away before a sea of violins washed over the harp and piano with a wide crescendo. The hairs on his arms raised as the music flooded his ears in a pre-climactic forte. He could imagine a scene, a person, an emotion to every note that coursed through his being. He twitched excitedly as the instruments hit their peak then crashed suddenly into a low softness. He searched for the music once again, his brows furrowing in disappointment. The harp and piano became so faint. The violins sung so softly. 

"Wait for it," Annie said taking a small bite out of her sandwich half. The music returned in a slow rise of blue fire that ran along Marco's body. His smile returned as his eyebrows flickered the deep emotional tole his heart was experiencing. His eyes flew open at the sudden change of melody. His throat ached, yearning to swell in a fit of tears. His jaw became incredibly cold as his heart pounded. Annie smiled knowingly as she watched Marco react so passionately to the music she had tortured herself with for days.

"Do you like it?" She asked batting at stray bangs the trickled Marco's face. He lifted an arm to cover his eyes as tears welled up in his vision.

"Yes," he somberly laughed, pulling the ear bud out of his head to hand back to Annie. He had heard enough to love it through and through. She chuckled soundlessly with a fleeting display of delight. Marco smiled to himself as he felt the twitch in her navel when she did so.

"But Annie," He said sitting up with moist eyes and a smile on his face, "I can't play all of that on just the piano in one sitting you know," She nodded and handed him a folder.

"I wrote out a strictly piano version for you," she replied dryly with a hint of a smile breaking their brief eye contact. Marco took the folder and ran out the door with out a word. Annie slowly got up to follow him on the sudden journey to the music hall. She casually shut the door and grabbed their coats as Marco franticly skid and ran into walls while pulling on his shoes. Annie laughed to herself as she pulled on her coat and draped Marco's over her arm. Marco flung open the exit of his dorm building to be greeted by a rush of cold air hissing and biting at his thin sweater. He slammed the door shut, instantly regretting his decision. Annie tossed him his coat with an eye roll and a smirk.

"Oh," he attempted a marvelous catch to no avail, "Thank you Annie." He laughed, scooping up the coat and flipping it over to pull it on.

"Tch. Don't get too excited man. It's just a song." She murmured patting Marco on the shoulder as she exited the building.

"Annie!" He exclaimed chasing after her, "How could you say that? Your music is incredible!"

She gave him a sideways glance and a tip of her head trying to see the significance.

"I didn't write that one," She said flatly stuffing her hands in her pockets after lifting her soft sheepskin lined hood.

"But, Annie." Marco countered tucking the folder safely under his arm in his coat, "You composed the same piece for just piano and maybe one violin by ear." That in itself was a challenge for most musicians. Even more so for a person who didn't play any form of instrument to Marco's knowledge. Annie smiled to herself, genuinely flattered by Marco's innocence about everything. She held her head high, eyes focused forward as they crossed the small corner of courtyard to the music hall. Marco trotted happily to the door and opened it for her but Annie paused in front of him.

"Go ahead," Marco politely said with a smile. Annie looked up at him from the darkness of her hood and gave him a small refusal of a head shake. Marco gave her a look of confusion and went in first keeping his hand on the door. Annie continued forward but pushed his hand off the entrance so it started closing in on her and lightly grazed her elbow.

"What's up?" Marco asked giving her a short look of worry. She slowed to walk side by side with him again, her face staying in it's neutral setting.

"I don't like people holding doors open for me." There was a coldness in her voice that Marco hadn't expected.

"Why is that?" He asked cheerfully trying to spark a lightness to the conversation.

"That's when people stab you in the back." She countered.

Marco paused, his feet scuffing to a halt as the small piercing look in her eye startled him. His words collided like the cars of a train as it hurtled off the tracks as he tried to make up something to say. Annie turned and looked at him, taking her hood off in a slow cool motion. Marco furrowed his brow in a serious shadow of suspicion working hard to find the meaning behind Annie's words. Her eyes widened slightly at the concern carved into his face. This was a side of Marco Annie had always sensed existed but never took it seriously since she expected it to never show itself. Despite his lighthearted way of existing in the world Marco had a very keen sense of intuition. There was no doubt that he weighed every feeling with the seriousness of Anubis. Annie heard a low pumping of a kettle drum that introduced a quiet solo of an oboe. She tilted her head slightly at the sound trying to navigate the source of this new quietly wafting tune. This was Marco's heart, she concluded after a morose flute, or was it a piccolo, rolled and twisted into the oboe and over the soft drumming. _How have you been hiding this Marco?_ She snarled internally as the sharpness of a hammered dulcimer judged her moral standing. Marco took a step forward but pulled his body back to his original point leaning away in an undecided mix of decisions. Annie's eyes narrowed as the music stopped suddenly in a fit of disembodied chords.

"What is it?" Marco asked, now horribly self conscious about his judgement. Tiny fibrous muscles jumped and twisted along the lower lid of Annie's eye.

"Nothing," She replied placing a hand over the twitching muscle and turning around, "Come on. Someone will take the piano before you."

Annie started walking again her mind in a frenzy of curses. Marco had been the first person she encountered since coming here that genuinely frightened her. Everything about him seemed too good to be that honest. His heart was always on his sleeve but until now it had never attempted a singular note let alone a hum or a song. Annie kept her composed exterior as her thoughts exploded in out rage. How did she not take notice of the uncanny silence that enveloped the two of them when Marco sat next to or across from her at meals or studies. The curses had narrowed in on the horrifying vacuum that Marco projected around him. A cursed thought spat at Annie's sudden need to befriend and trust this anomaly of a casual citizen. She realized now that if anyone could sneak up on her it would be Marco.

Annie pushed open the door to the music hall filtering her frustrations through her flesh that collided with the hard wood. She held it open for Marco to let him enter as she bowed and tilted her head away from him. He thanked her graciously with a small nod and a moment of hesitation. _Are you going to stab me in the back Annie?_ He thought moving forward. She gave him a small shake of her head as if responding to his quiet thought. Marco paused his eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"Di-Did you just?" Marco stuttered with a small look of excitement in his eyes. Annie looked up suddenly aware she had been caught. No point in denying it, she thought with a disappointed twitch on her lips. She nodded slowly keeping her eyes away from Marco's glance. He squealed soundlessly with a small dance of happy satisfaction and minor disbelief.

"Can you do anything else?" Marco asked leaning in close to keep his voice low. Annie huffed with a smirk of relief.

"Later," she chuckled landing a controlled punch to Marco's chest, "We'll talk about it later."

Marco beamed rubbing the sore spot as Annie passed in front of him. _Thank you Annie_ , he thought narrowing his senses on her as they made their way across the music hall. Annie paused taking a short glance over her shoulder, a question in her eyes that asked him to continue. _For everything_. She nodded mildly and approached an entrance to a tiny room. 

Marco took a look around making note that the music hall was practically empty in it's large space that included an instrument rental office, recording rooms, and a couple soundproof practice rooms. He left Annie to wait for him at the practice room that held a piano as he sauntered up to the small office window. The sandy haired work study sat disgruntledly at his desk giving his laptop a frustrated and bored glare. 

"Bonjour," Marko greeted with a small tap against the fiberglass.

"Bonjour," the desk assistant said flatly narrowing his eyes at the screen. Marco Shifted his weight nervously hoping this wouldn't turn into a sour experience.

"Comment c'est va?" he tried again looking back at Annie nervously. She gave him a shrug with an unseen smirk.

"Oui, oui c'est va," the distracted assistant replied waving Marco's question away, "Et-" he faltered finally making eye contact with Marco, "Toi?"

"Hallo Jean," Marco waved with a bright smile. Jean lowered his brow to create a flat line across his narrow eyes trying to hide his inner excitement.

"And, you are?" Jean quizzed keeping his voice unamused. Marco's face fell at the question. 

"Marco,"

Jean's face softened slightly, now reconsidering his choice in attitude, at the disappointment in Marco's voice and expression. 

"Oh right right. Honor student, plays piano, takes Ravialle's class,"

Marco smiled with a nod feeling reassured but still skeptical. Jean closed his laptop giving it a short suspicious glance at the slow loading screen.

"You know the practice rooms are always unlocked right?" Jean hissed, deciding a change was unnecessary, drumming his fingers against the desk. Marco's posture crumbled in panic.

"I-I have to sign in though. For class," He stuttered pointing at the practice log along the back wall. Jean turned around in the direction of Marco's gesture.

"Oh. Well I'll be damned." Jean grunted getting up from his perch and grabbing Marco's time card, "I'll only take your signature in blood if you don't mind."Jean continued sliding a section of the window aside and slapping the card sharply against the worn wood in front of Marco. Jean's amber eyes met Marco's with sharp practiced precision. Marco forced his mouth into a flat line and narrowed his eyes at the comment. Jean smirked with a twitch then frowned, raising an eyebrow to further his aura of annoyance.

"I don't have all night."

Marco held eye contact as he pulled a pen out of his pocket. He clicked it open sharply and pushed Jean's hand off the time card so he could add a sharp glare and a flick of his signature.

"Vous êtes intéressante lorsque vous êtes fou," Jean cooed keeping his raised eye brow. Observing Marco's freckles and the way he concentrated on writing the date and time Jean unconsciously pressed the tip of his tongue to the back of his front teeth. Sliding it forward he smirked thoughtfully.

"Pardon?" Marco asked slightly delayed in reference to Jean's remark. He looked up quickly, but not in time to see Jean's face snap back to its default growl.

"Thanks. Just come back and sign it when you're done," Jean scoffed sliding the card out from under Marco's hand; trembling internally at the pull of his fingertips against the roughed paper. Marco huffed and turned quickly right into Annie who had taken it upon herself to sneak up on him. She chuckled quietly at Marco's startled face and dragged him over to the practice room.

"He said 'You're cute when you're mad'," She whispered with a low rumble of amusement. Marco looked back at desk window watching as Jean slowly took his seat and thought momentarily about something before opening his computer once again.  

* * *

 

 

Levi tiredly pushed the door open with a sigh, coming home two hours later than usual. Erwin was still placed on the pillow bag sleeping soundly with an arm still wrapped around Armin. Levi hung up his coat thoughtfully, listening intently to the smooth breaths of his two companions. He wrapped his scarf around the coat rack after placing his shoes gently to the side. Levi gave the apartment a stern look around making sure that things were in their proper place. Everything looked good as far as he could tell in the dim light. Bouncing his keys in his hand Levi considered tossing them at Erwin to wake him up.

"Oi,” he called, lowering his head with a slight growl. Levi closed the door with a sharp click keeping his eyes locked on the small amount of Erwin he could see. 

"Why are you sleeping," he asked, curiously approaching. Levi tilted his head around to get a better view of the situation at hand. Hoping that a full visual would be able to determined an answer to his question. Erwin stayed quiet with his head resting comfortably in the bend of his left arm while right held Armin tightly in place. Levi's heart twitched then ached slightly at the view. He didn't want to admit it, but he was jealous in the grayest way possible. 

"Tch. Figures,” Levi rolled his eyes and sat down on the floor leaning against the pillow bag.

"You’re too much of a caring asshole,” he whispered running a hand through Erwin’s hair to mess up his disturbingly perfect bangs. Levi smiled as he pulled the hair forward to try a different style against Erwin’s face. He gave a small glance at Armin then back to Erwin.

"You two look a little too alike,” he huffed frowning at the both of them, "Stuck with a kid. How romantic. 

Levi lifted a knee to prop his elbow on so he could rest his head in his hand. He couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated about the sudden entrance of Armin into their lives. It never really made sense, but for some reason Erwin made it clear that he was taking full responsibility for someone he didn’t need to. Levi went along with the show since, at the time, he found no reason to argue. He had to admit, Erwin was different now that Armin was slowly influencing the little things they did on a daily basis. Their outings were still, on paper, the same. Their habits continued relatively unscathed, but there was always this uneasiness to the tiny subconscious way they preformed them. Levi stared at the two of them feeling another short pull in his heart. He sighed heavily trying to push the palpitations out of his body through his lungs and began to get up.

"You’re home late,” Erwin rumbled taking a firm hold of Levi’s forearm. Levi turned raising a bewildered eyebrow.

"What’s wrong with the brat?” he asked flatly nodding in Armin’s direction. Erwin opened one eye to stare at Levi sideways for a moment before turning his head.

"He just passed out again,” Erwin sighed looking down at Armin with concern. Levi huffed and got up prying his arm away. He didn't need to, but there was a flicker of satisfaction in the aggressiveness of his action.

"You ok?” Erwin asked sitting up slightly, careful not to jostle Armin. Levi pulled his raven like hair back out of his eyes letting his fingers tug on his scalp. He shrugged and moved to the bedroom entrance next to the kitchen. Erwin narrowed his eyes with a small serious scowl.

"Answer me Levi,” His voice shot through the back of Levi’s head. Levi stopped at the first of the three shallow stairs and smacked the door frame out of a sudden fit of frustration. Levi stared at his hand against the cool frame in confusion.  _Where did that come from?_

"It wouldn’t make much difference if I told you,” he heard himself say. Levi twitched his shoulders in personal surprise at the callousness in his voice that he didn't mean. Embarrassed, Levi lowered his head and walked into the bedroom. Hands fumbling slightly, he grabbed one of Erwin's t-shirts, one with little to no decoration and a luxurious softness to the touch, and pressed it to his face before laying down on the large bed. Pulling his knees up to his chest Levi lost himself in a sense of serenity. He would apologize once his nerves returned and his mind was rightfully placed.

Erwin watched as Levi was swallowed by the darkness of the bedroom. He inhaled sharply, understanding Levi's frustrations, then looked to the slumbering blonde on his chest. He ran a thumb along Armin’s cheek and eyelid trying to wake him softly. Armin stirred slightly but refused to move more than that.

"Hey,” Erwin said quietly, lightly tugging on Armin’s bangs. Armin moaned quietly and attempted to swat Erwin’s hand away.

"Wake up,”

Armin exhaled loudly trying to gather the strength required to rise from the heavy, dark, ooze of sleep he had sunk to the bottom of. He pushed himself off Erwin’s chest with a sleepy frown. He felt exhausted despite his long nap. Armin hadn't really slept at all, half conscious and paralyzed in a sleepy stooper he had heard everything that had gone on around him in a muffled projection of sound under water. The whole time he had been trapped in an upside-down room that constantly changed its decor. Occasionally a voice would join the room and only a shadow of a figure but not much else. Armin got up as quickly as his legs would allow and tried to wander away before Erwin could ask any questions.

"I’ll leave you alone when my birthday comes ok?” he mumbled rubbing his closed eyes with the sleeve of his sweater. He knew he was a burden and planned on leaving once the opportunity arose. For the time being it would be messy and complicated if he just decided to up and run off as he liked. He could see through his blur that Erwin was concerned and possibly hurt on one level or another. Armin ignored the last part and began to shuffle over to the door of his bedroom with small mental cursing about neglecting Marco.

"Just give me a couple months,” He trailed keeping his eyes away from Erwin as much as possible. Armin considered Erwin's constant kindness and Levi's protection with a heavy heart. He wanted to trust the both of them but couldn't bring himself to walk around the wall his biological family had cast upon him. It would be easier if they didn't care. He shrugged the thoughts off like snow on his shoulders and moved over the five stairs that platformed his room higher above the others. _Maybe I can find Marco again and actually have a quiet time with someone_ , he thought pressing his index finger to his upper lip and making thought provoking popping noises that only he could hear. 

**"Hey it's Marco. Erwin gave me your number. Text me whenever you feel like :D"** beamed up at Armin's face from the screen of his phone. He smiled shyly and shook his head at the mental sound of Marco's voice reading it back to him. 

**"Hey, Sorry I fell asleep. >n>' I didn't mean to be such a jerk and do that. Want to get coffee or something?"** Armin tapped the message out after a few spelling errors and autocorrects. After sending the message he changed into something a little warmer and more comfortable so he emotionally felt more awake and supported. He curled up on his bed to wait for a response. 

Erwin frowned but did nothing as Armin stood up and walked into his room on the other side of the sitting crater. He watched him disappear with a low sigh. A minor failure for the day that Erwin really didn't want to admit to. He let his eyes settle on the door frame and then over the stairs Armin's small feet had traveled up just moments before. He turned his head into Levi's hand that was placed perfectly a head of time to rest gently against his cheek.

"Sorry.” Levi mumbled giving Erwin's slowly shadowing cheek a brush from his thumb. Erwin pressed his face into Levi's hand giving it a soft kiss. 

"I know. Just talk to me next time ok? You know I'm hear to listen to you."

* * *

_There was a faltering in my spine when I saw the way you rolled through your existence_   
_There was a pull_   
_A tug in the center of my throat when I watched you cry with out tears_   
_If I was made for anything_   
_If there is a reason for my being_   
_It is to comfort you_   
_It is to right you when you have wandered from your path_   
_I only ask that you watch over me like the God I have imagined you to be_

 

 


End file.
